Page:Frank Owen - The Scarlett Hill, 1941.djvu/95

RV 90 (THE PEAR GARDEN) they were devout, the prayers were to Buddha. Since they were distraught, their pleas were to Wu Tao-tzu. They implored Wu to erase the donkey from the wall. Wu's face was inscrutable but he was laughing in his sleeves and the breeze cooled his arms. Better, he thought, to erase these bad, evil-smelling priests who brought disdain upon their calling. Finally, however, though reluctantly, for he had grown to cherish that donkey, he rubbed it from the wall and tranquillity returned to the temple.

Ming's reflections on Wu were akin to envy. For the truth was though Ming Huang was the Emperor of all China, he was vastly interested in sorcery, magic, witchcraft and all supernatural manifestations. Perhaps in Wu Tao-tzu, he had found a substitute for Lo Ssu-yuan, the Magician, who was clever in many fields and supreme in charlatanry. One of his most engaging tricks was to make himself invisible and to reappear at will. Ming Huang commanded him to teach him the trick.

Lo smiled. His hands fluttered about as though they were moths. While he had been performing the trick for the Emperor, he had dwelt at the Palace. Used to the miserable living conditions of an itinerant circus performer in the Southern Provinces, the bounty of the Court was such that he had no intention of retiring from it. The outstanding trick of his celebrated, though impoverished, career was to find the means to remain under Imperial patronage. Even the crumbs from the Emperor's table, to Lo, were rare delicacies. RV 90 (90)